“It was just a way to get out and get into different areas and meet with people,” said committee chairwoman K.Z. Bolton, D-Adrian. Updates on progress toward implementing the commission’s new strategic plan were expected to be a feature of the night meetings, she said.

Several commissioners objected, citing the cost and possible inconvenience of meetings at out-county sites.

The public expects the commission to meet in the old courthouse, and moving the site could create confusion, said commissioner Ralph Tillotson, R-Adrian Twp. He made a motion to hold any night meetings in the commission chambers at the old courthouse.

“Unless this room won’t hold the people who will be here, any meeting we have should be right here,” Tillotson said.

Commission meetings have been moved to larger facilities in the past when the commission chambers became overcrowded.

“I don’t think we need to be traveling around just to be traveling around,” said commissioner David Stimpson, R-Tecumseh. Moving the meeting location away from the center of the county would mean additional mileage costs and inconvenience for the public, he said.

The commission should meet in the county seat, said commissioner Cletus Smith, R-Madison Twp.

Moving the meeting location is not likely to attract more public attendance, said commissioner Jack Branch, R-Onsted. People attend meetings when there is something on the agenda they feel affects them, he said.

Commission chairman John Tuckerman, R-Blissfield, said he agreed with the goal of rotating night meetings, but commissioners can find other means of engaging and communicating with constituents.